1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



353 



the head of the Spanish cock as handsome as 

 that of any other variety ; and in the f^enuine 

 breed the whole form is equally good. The 

 cock-bird should be strong and short in the 

 legs as possible ; his back from tail to neck 

 short, tail large and ample. He should weigh 

 not less than six pounds ; the head is rather 

 large, the spurs long and sharp, and the bear- 

 ing and carriage proud and high. 



Spanish hens are also of good size and good 

 figure, and are celebrated as good layers, pro- 

 ducing very large white eggs. The head of 

 the hen should be neat, and of moderate size ; 

 eyes bright; comb single, very large and pen- 

 dulous ; face entirely white, the white extend- 

 ing round the eye ; neck of moderate length, 

 neatly set on ; body broad, wings of middle 

 size ; legs a bluish white ; tail long and well 

 squared ; plumage of a glossy black, with 

 brilliant tints of green and purple, as in the 

 cock, but less brilliant. Her weight should 

 not be less than five pounds. 



Mr. Browne says it is doubtful whether they 

 would readily become acclimated in the north- 

 ern part of the United Slates, on account of 

 severe frosts, which would be likely to injure 

 their combs. Mr. Wright, author of the Eng- 

 lish work on poultry recently published by O. 

 Judd, & Co., speaks of them as a delicate 

 race, and says the chickens must be kept out 

 of the damp. If not kept dry they die away 

 rapidly, no one knows how. The pullets will 

 generally lay when six months old, and when 

 kept in an artificially warmed house, and oth- 

 erwise well cared for, will produce five or six 

 eggs a week during winter. 



We are indebted to Thomas B. Smith of 

 Stony Brook, L. I., for the above spirited 

 illustration. 



Preparation of Long Wool for Mar- 

 ket. — For the last two years I have probably 

 handled more Canada combing wool than any 

 other man in Michigan, and I will only say 

 that to a man of experience, there is nothing 

 easier of detection than stuffed fleeces. My 

 advice to wool-growers is, to wash their sheep 

 well in a running stream wherever this is prac- 

 ticable, shear as soon as perfectly dry, taking 

 care not to let the second growth commence 

 before shearing, as t-hat causes a tender place 

 in the staple and thereby depreciates the value 

 of the wool. 



Do not use a box in folding, but after 

 spreading out the fleece on the table, staple 

 side up, turn the flanks inside, commence at 



the breech and roll up, making wool twine 

 out of the neck to tie around the fleece, which 

 is all that is necessary. All English as well 

 as Canada combing wool is prepared in this 

 way, and it is much better to handle than 

 those fleeces which have four to six strings 

 around them. All dung balls, tags, and un- 

 washed locks should be carefully excluded, 

 for these things injure a man's reputation, and 

 depreciates the value of wool. — Cor. Western 

 Rural. 



"PERSONS OP PUBLIC NOTE." 

 The same number of the weekly New York 

 Tribune which contained lengthy eulogies on 

 Henry J. Raymond, late editor of the New 

 York Times, published also a letter from a 

 farmer in Indiana, in which the following sen- 

 tence occurs : — 



'•When we see an obituary published in any of 

 the public papers it is generally on some famous 

 lawyer, great judge, distinguished writer, rich 

 merchant, or pious clergyman. But the poor far- 

 mer and his boy must die 'unwept, unhonored, and 

 unsung.' " 



In the Congregationalist and Boston Re- 

 corder, of the same week, we read the follow- 

 ing announcement : — 



"The charge for notices of marriages and deaths, 

 of only the usual length is twenty-tive cents, ex- 

 cept in case of clergymen or persons of pub- 

 lic NOTE. Each additional line ^ew cents." 



We did think of preaching a short lay ser- 

 mon on these texts, but remembering that 

 there is danger of darkening counsel by words, 

 we conclude to halve the matter with "our 

 congregation" — we furnish the text; they the 

 sermon. 



It may, however, be proper for us to say 

 that we do not object to the eulogies pro- 

 nounced on Mr. Raymond. He was an able 

 and an industrious worker, and deserved not 

 only success but the respect of bis fellow men. 

 But in the "lower walks of life" there are 

 men who act well their part, and our regret is 

 that there are so few to do them honor. We 

 have long felt that the agricultural papers of 

 the country were hardly doing their duty in 

 respect to honoring the memory of faithful 

 and exemplary farmers, who by their skill and 

 industry have made the desert blossom as the 

 rose, or who have caused two blades of grass 

 to grow where but one grew before. We 

 have occasionally alluded to the subject, and 

 do so now without any definite plan for ac- 

 complishing the object proposed, further than 

 to express the hope that no agricultural editor 



